Solo Practice

It seemed appropriate to write this post on Independence Day.

Blogger James Chartrand of Men With Pens writes a very 'arrow through our entrepreneurial heart' blog post when he asks:

Are you setting yourself up for failure before even trying for success?

Think about it. How many times have you said, ?Okay. I?ll try? but I don?t think it?s going to work.? You give it a skeptical shot. When your attempt doesn?t produce miraculous results, you throw up your hands and say, ?See? I told you it wouldn?t work!?

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"Most people aren?t willing to risk failure, embarrassment or loss on the chance that success, pride and gain might occur.

Funny, that. We want the good stuff, but we aren?t willing to take risks to achieve goals. We avoid potential success because potential failure is worse.

So we protect ourselves with skepticism. We take no action because action is risky. We don?t put ourselves forward because where we are is okay. We don?t take chances because we can?t control the outcome. We won?t have faith because misplaced trust can be painful.

We don?t want to get hurt."

There are many people, myself included, who will help you dispatch the naysayers, those 'others', professors, colleagues, and more who will make you feel like you can't possibly succeed as a solo practitioner.  But how do you deal with your internal voice, that nagging voice inside your head which tries to quell your enthusiasm, your entrepreneurial spirit and rob you of those opportunities which present themselves, repeating over and over...'I won't succeed as a solo practitioner.'

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure."   Bill Cosby 

Taking any risk is never easy.  That's why they call it a risk.  There is a definable downside if you don't succeed.  But what is the cost to your spirit not to take calculated risks in this life?